It's all about Relationships! Understanding and Connecting with Adolescents
Spending the better part of a decade working closely with schools, teachers, and administrators across Minnesota, HYD-PRC researchers and staff know that it truly is “all about building relationships” between caring adults and students. Research confirms that students who are connected to caring adults in school are healthier and more successful academically. That’s why Abi Gadea, co-developer of Whole Learners© a teacher professional development program, has set out to continue advancing professional development opportunities for teachers, student services staff, and administrators.
“Whole Learners© focuses on building strong relationships between teachers and students, and supporting teachers in addressing developmental needs of young adolescents. It also focuses on promoting student engagement in school,” said Gadea.
Implemented and evaluated in rural, suburban, and urban middle schools as part of two UMN research studies (Minnesota Partnerships for School Connectedness – 2010-2014, and Partnering for Healthy Student Outcomes – 2014-2019 PRC Core Research Project), Whole Learners© has proven its effectiveness. Gadea notes that schools’ use of the Whole Learners© program has increased student engagement, improved classroom culture and climate, and has aided teachers in building stronger relationships with their students. “With the success of Whole Learners© and the need for additional professional development, we felt we could also develop a new training curriculum that could further aid teachers and student services staff,” said Gadea.
Focused on reaching broader audiences throughout Minnesota, and the US, Gadea teamed up with consultant Pam Moore, healthy youth development expert and former Konopka Institute for Best Practices staff member, to further investigate needs of those working with adolescents in school settings. “We talked with key stakeholders – teachers, principals, and administrators from public and charter schools,” said Moore. Two main action areas were identified:1) develop an online learning platform offering foundational trainings on adolescent development and healthy youth development, and 2) create a resource center offering tools, resources, and best practices in relationship building and adolescent connectedness.
Gadea and Moore set to work creating, “It’s all about Relationships: Understanding and Connecting with Adolescents”, a training curriculum for teachers and student services staff. This training provides individuals with a deep dive into early adolescent development, and explores developmentally-tailored, relationship-oriented approaches geared toward enhancing relationships with adolescents in school settings. “We hosted a 2-day in-person training this past August and people from the Twin Cities, North Dakota and Illinois were in attendance,” said Gadea. “We recorded this training and are excited to add it to the Whole Learners© website as an additional resource for anyone to access.”
Gadea is excited about the direction that Whole Learners© is heading. “Providing teachers tools to achieve their goals of creating stronger connections with their students and helping them be more successful academically is something I am passionate about,” said Gadea. “The HYD-PRC plans to continue developing partnerships with new schools to implement Whole Learners© and we are excited about creating new curricula to help further the professional development of teachers and strengthen relationships for adolescents in Minnesota and across the country,” stated Gadea.
For more information, visit the Whole Learners© website or follow Whole Learners© on Twitter or Facebook.